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Adam Spragg
May 18, 2019, 1:43:18 PM5/18/19
to The Valley
Hey everyone!
What a fascinating trip.
Birel, Aila, Newt and I all left last Sunday morning as you saw, and we headed along the previous route to the Temple of Power.
I'm pleased to report that the forest the temple is in is not so apparently devoid of life as it was before. We saw fresh rabbit warrens and heard birdsong as we travelled, and heard normal forest noises that night too, and there was a noticable absence of evidence spiders.
We reached the temple with time to spare before sunset (it helps when you know where you're going!) and did a bit of exploring around the area. Newt climbed a tree and spotted the top of a tower a few miles to the south-west, still with in the forest. We also spotted that the ground on the north wall of the tower was a bit swampy again, but nothing like as waterlogged as when we first arrived a few weeks ago.
Also, there was no evidence of spiders within the temple. The circular door on the lower floor remains closed, with the statues propped against it.
Anyway, we pulled the lever to activate the temple machinery at around sunset, as planned, and left it that way for about 5 minutes. Newt, from the top of a tree, spotted 3 pulses of light from Entatratashan go out to its west, and 3 pulses in reply, but then nothing for the remainder of the time before we deactivated the machinery again.
Despite the apparent normalcy of the forest, we spent the night in the tool hut just to the south of the temple, as planned.
The next morning, we adjusted the valves on the pipes to about half open, before opening the lever to turn the machinery on before leaving.
Our first port of call was the tower Newt had spotted the previous evening. It turned out to be a circular stone tower, roughly 55' high, and 20' across at the bottom, tapering to about 10' across at the top. The top was broken, with the pieces lying on/embedded in the ground at the base. Judging by the state of the pieces, they'd been there for some time. On one side of the tower was a symbol that looked kind of like a 3-legged stool seen from the side, with an eye above it. None of the other runes though.
Newt, with the help of Birel's grappling hook (that this is *so* useful!) climbed the tower to get a good look at the top. Just below the broken wall there was a circular floor covering the whole are within, with an 8" wide recess in the middle, glowing white. In the recess was a white crystal which Newt retrieved, and also a white "bolt" like the other coloured ones we'd seen. Birel climbed up and detected that the bolt was imbued with divination magic. I also climbed up to take some bearings of the other things we could see. Then we replaced the bolt before we left.
We then headed south towards the crags. We skirted the west side of a forest and reached the south-west corner of it as evening approached. We weren't going to reach the crags that day, so we made camp just on that south-west edge of the forest, using the trees and bushes to provide a bit of cover from the elements.
This turned out to be a mistake. As morning approached, we were attacked by Twig Blights, which were *really* annoying. We killed them all, but special props go to Newt who used her hand-axes to chop a few of them into tiny pieces with particular efficiency. It turns out that that forest has a cursed tree at its centre, and the whole place is full of blights of one kind or another, and is best avoided - according to some people we met later that I'll get to soon.
Anyway, after we packed up camp we made the final part of the journey to the crags. As we got closer, we could see that there were people down by the crags, and they'd strung massive banners up between 5 of the 6 sides. On the 6th side, the north-west, was a road that led off in that direction - the road that Birel had spotted from Kazkan's farm the other week.
As we approached, the banners resolved to be the blue/white flags of Corellon, the god of spring, beauty and the arts, and the people turned out to be Elves, also dressed in the colours of Corellon. We decided that they didn't look that threatening, so went down to the road and approached the crags and the pool from that direction to meet them.
The crags themselves are about 300' high, and are shaped like smooth cones with rounded tops. They're made of what looks like a dark grey stone, but it still has a slightly metallic sheen to it. For some reason, they look grown, rather than built. The hexagon they form is about 1200' across, and the Elves had put up 30' high poles between the crags to string their banners from.
The pool in the middle is circular, quite shallow at the edge, getting deeper towards the middle, before plunging into a deep funnel at the centre.
We introduced ourselves to one of the elves, who seemed friendly and pleased to see travellers, and spoke to her in Common. Her name was Felosial, and she told us that the elves call this place Klippika, and that they regard the circle as holy ground, which they've consecrated to Corellon. They call themselves The Watchers Of The Water, and there are always some of them in attendance at the pond. They are all initiates in the Church of Corellon, and only their High Priestess, Quelenna, is allowed to enter the pond, and only on special occasions.
Felosial said that, some nights, "Corellon's Stars" appear in the pond. These are blue-white lights which rise up from the funnel at the centre, and swim around in the shallows. If we were to stay until the evening, and were particularly lucky, we might be fortunate enough to see them for ourselves.
Phew! My throat's getting a bit dry from all this talking. Can someone get me another beer to help me finish the story...?
[Author's note - Sorry, real life is intruding, and I'll have to finish this a bit later. We are all back safe though. Part 2 will follow as soon as I can.]
Bran.
What a fascinating trip.
Birel, Aila, Newt and I all left last Sunday morning as you saw, and we headed along the previous route to the Temple of Power.
I'm pleased to report that the forest the temple is in is not so apparently devoid of life as it was before. We saw fresh rabbit warrens and heard birdsong as we travelled, and heard normal forest noises that night too, and there was a noticable absence of evidence spiders.
We reached the temple with time to spare before sunset (it helps when you know where you're going!) and did a bit of exploring around the area. Newt climbed a tree and spotted the top of a tower a few miles to the south-west, still with in the forest. We also spotted that the ground on the north wall of the tower was a bit swampy again, but nothing like as waterlogged as when we first arrived a few weeks ago.
Also, there was no evidence of spiders within the temple. The circular door on the lower floor remains closed, with the statues propped against it.
Anyway, we pulled the lever to activate the temple machinery at around sunset, as planned, and left it that way for about 5 minutes. Newt, from the top of a tree, spotted 3 pulses of light from Entatratashan go out to its west, and 3 pulses in reply, but then nothing for the remainder of the time before we deactivated the machinery again.
Despite the apparent normalcy of the forest, we spent the night in the tool hut just to the south of the temple, as planned.
The next morning, we adjusted the valves on the pipes to about half open, before opening the lever to turn the machinery on before leaving.
Our first port of call was the tower Newt had spotted the previous evening. It turned out to be a circular stone tower, roughly 55' high, and 20' across at the bottom, tapering to about 10' across at the top. The top was broken, with the pieces lying on/embedded in the ground at the base. Judging by the state of the pieces, they'd been there for some time. On one side of the tower was a symbol that looked kind of like a 3-legged stool seen from the side, with an eye above it. None of the other runes though.
Newt, with the help of Birel's grappling hook (that this is *so* useful!) climbed the tower to get a good look at the top. Just below the broken wall there was a circular floor covering the whole are within, with an 8" wide recess in the middle, glowing white. In the recess was a white crystal which Newt retrieved, and also a white "bolt" like the other coloured ones we'd seen. Birel climbed up and detected that the bolt was imbued with divination magic. I also climbed up to take some bearings of the other things we could see. Then we replaced the bolt before we left.
We then headed south towards the crags. We skirted the west side of a forest and reached the south-west corner of it as evening approached. We weren't going to reach the crags that day, so we made camp just on that south-west edge of the forest, using the trees and bushes to provide a bit of cover from the elements.
This turned out to be a mistake. As morning approached, we were attacked by Twig Blights, which were *really* annoying. We killed them all, but special props go to Newt who used her hand-axes to chop a few of them into tiny pieces with particular efficiency. It turns out that that forest has a cursed tree at its centre, and the whole place is full of blights of one kind or another, and is best avoided - according to some people we met later that I'll get to soon.
Anyway, after we packed up camp we made the final part of the journey to the crags. As we got closer, we could see that there were people down by the crags, and they'd strung massive banners up between 5 of the 6 sides. On the 6th side, the north-west, was a road that led off in that direction - the road that Birel had spotted from Kazkan's farm the other week.
As we approached, the banners resolved to be the blue/white flags of Corellon, the god of spring, beauty and the arts, and the people turned out to be Elves, also dressed in the colours of Corellon. We decided that they didn't look that threatening, so went down to the road and approached the crags and the pool from that direction to meet them.
The crags themselves are about 300' high, and are shaped like smooth cones with rounded tops. They're made of what looks like a dark grey stone, but it still has a slightly metallic sheen to it. For some reason, they look grown, rather than built. The hexagon they form is about 1200' across, and the Elves had put up 30' high poles between the crags to string their banners from.
The pool in the middle is circular, quite shallow at the edge, getting deeper towards the middle, before plunging into a deep funnel at the centre.
We introduced ourselves to one of the elves, who seemed friendly and pleased to see travellers, and spoke to her in Common. Her name was Felosial, and she told us that the elves call this place Klippika, and that they regard the circle as holy ground, which they've consecrated to Corellon. They call themselves The Watchers Of The Water, and there are always some of them in attendance at the pond. They are all initiates in the Church of Corellon, and only their High Priestess, Quelenna, is allowed to enter the pond, and only on special occasions.
Felosial said that, some nights, "Corellon's Stars" appear in the pond. These are blue-white lights which rise up from the funnel at the centre, and swim around in the shallows. If we were to stay until the evening, and were particularly lucky, we might be fortunate enough to see them for ourselves.
Phew! My throat's getting a bit dry from all this talking. Can someone get me another beer to help me finish the story...?
[Author's note - Sorry, real life is intruding, and I'll have to finish this a bit later. We are all back safe though. Part 2 will follow as soon as I can.]
Bran.
Adam Spragg
May 19, 2019, 7:02:50 AM5/19/19
to theval...@googlegroups.com
... ah, that's much better.
Where was I? Oh yes, Felosial was telling us about the pool, Klippika, and the lights, Corellon's Stars, and how they worship them.
Well, she was really helpful in loads of other ways too. She warned us about the dangers of the Blight Woods, which we admitted to encountering, and she explained that the danger is even greater further in, and about the cursed tree at the centre. She also knows about the Builders, and Entatratashan. She said that the Builders existed in the world before even the Elves did, and that when the Elves came to these lands from across a sea to the south of Entatratashan in the time of their Queen's grandmother's grandmother (so, 1,600 to 1,800 years ago?) that there were artefacts of the Builders in their home lands even then. She also said that there are Dwarves who live in the west who speak of towers left behind by the Builders too.
We were invited to stay by the pool and wait to see if Corellon's Stars would come out that evening. As we waited for night to fall Newt and Birel played their flutes together in a wonderful soothing duet.
Then luck smiled on us; Corellon's Stars did come out. The blue lights arose from the deep centre of the pool, as we were told they do, and moved about in the shallows. As they did, the Elves sung prayers in Elvish to Corellon and Pelor (who they also call Lightgiver) who they say lives in a golden tower to the east. Also, the inward-facing surfaces of the crags glowed a faint blue colour as the lights moved about the pool.
That night we slept by the pool.
The next morning we were invited to visit the Elves' village to the north-west, which they also call Klippika, after the pool. They were kind enough to lend us horses to travel with some of them along the dark grey stone road.
The village is really interesting. Despite having been there and continuously inhabited for over 1500 years, there's only one solid structure, the Queen's lodge. What a building though - it's entirely covered in stunning carvings of wild animals and other natural scenes. All the other Elves, a few hundred of them, live in tents.
We were invited to have an audience with their Queen, Meriele, which we graciously accepted. She told us stories of her grandmother's grandmother, Moranna(?), who settled here from the lands to the south beyond the sea, of the Dwarves to the west, and of the remains the Builders have left behind in all the lands they have visited. She said that there is a ravine about 1 day's walk west of Entatratashan with ghosts and machinery of the Builders, called Entatratradesh.
Queen Meriele confirmed Bryar's theory that the runes we've discovered are the Builder's numeric digits, a duodecimal system from 0-11. The digits are:
0 - Desh
1 - En
2 - Ta
3 - Tra
4 - Ur
5 - Fi
6 - Ika
7 - Sen
8 - Orta
9 - Nur
a - An
b - Shan
Which makes Entatratashan the number "1232b" in their system, and the ravine to its west "12330" - which is numerically one higher than Entatratashan.
After that we thanked the Elves greatly for their hospitality, returned to Klippika itself, and started our journey home - giving the Blight Wood a wide berth! We reached the Temple of Power the following evening, and deactivated the machinery, but in our haste (still trying to take in all that we'd learned) we completely forgot to try using the white crystal we'd picked up in the Tower of Divination in the viewing equipment there. Something for someone else to try on a later expedition.
I think that's everything. Birel, Aila or Newt, if I left something out, or got mixed up, please feel free to chip in with corrections.
Bran.
Where was I? Oh yes, Felosial was telling us about the pool, Klippika, and the lights, Corellon's Stars, and how they worship them.
Well, she was really helpful in loads of other ways too. She warned us about the dangers of the Blight Woods, which we admitted to encountering, and she explained that the danger is even greater further in, and about the cursed tree at the centre. She also knows about the Builders, and Entatratashan. She said that the Builders existed in the world before even the Elves did, and that when the Elves came to these lands from across a sea to the south of Entatratashan in the time of their Queen's grandmother's grandmother (so, 1,600 to 1,800 years ago?) that there were artefacts of the Builders in their home lands even then. She also said that there are Dwarves who live in the west who speak of towers left behind by the Builders too.
We were invited to stay by the pool and wait to see if Corellon's Stars would come out that evening. As we waited for night to fall Newt and Birel played their flutes together in a wonderful soothing duet.
Then luck smiled on us; Corellon's Stars did come out. The blue lights arose from the deep centre of the pool, as we were told they do, and moved about in the shallows. As they did, the Elves sung prayers in Elvish to Corellon and Pelor (who they also call Lightgiver) who they say lives in a golden tower to the east. Also, the inward-facing surfaces of the crags glowed a faint blue colour as the lights moved about the pool.
That night we slept by the pool.
The next morning we were invited to visit the Elves' village to the north-west, which they also call Klippika, after the pool. They were kind enough to lend us horses to travel with some of them along the dark grey stone road.
The village is really interesting. Despite having been there and continuously inhabited for over 1500 years, there's only one solid structure, the Queen's lodge. What a building though - it's entirely covered in stunning carvings of wild animals and other natural scenes. All the other Elves, a few hundred of them, live in tents.
We were invited to have an audience with their Queen, Meriele, which we graciously accepted. She told us stories of her grandmother's grandmother, Moranna(?), who settled here from the lands to the south beyond the sea, of the Dwarves to the west, and of the remains the Builders have left behind in all the lands they have visited. She said that there is a ravine about 1 day's walk west of Entatratashan with ghosts and machinery of the Builders, called Entatratradesh.
Queen Meriele confirmed Bryar's theory that the runes we've discovered are the Builder's numeric digits, a duodecimal system from 0-11. The digits are:
0 - Desh
1 - En
2 - Ta
3 - Tra
4 - Ur
5 - Fi
6 - Ika
7 - Sen
8 - Orta
9 - Nur
a - An
b - Shan
Which makes Entatratashan the number "1232b" in their system, and the ravine to its west "12330" - which is numerically one higher than Entatratashan.
After that we thanked the Elves greatly for their hospitality, returned to Klippika itself, and started our journey home - giving the Blight Wood a wide berth! We reached the Temple of Power the following evening, and deactivated the machinery, but in our haste (still trying to take in all that we'd learned) we completely forgot to try using the white crystal we'd picked up in the Tower of Divination in the viewing equipment there. Something for someone else to try on a later expedition.
I think that's everything. Birel, Aila or Newt, if I left something out, or got mixed up, please feel free to chip in with corrections.
Bran.
Anne
May 19, 2019, 8:13:24 AM5/19/19
to The Valley
I don't think you got mixed up about anything but there were a few minor details you left out. When we turned on the power at the Temple of Power I drove the statue that wasn't standing sentinel against the spiders, to see if everything was the same at that other tower where everyone died. It seemed to be so although I didn't linger long.
The elven queen told us that her people had dealings with the gnome village but not often. The last time was about a decade ago. She did not seem to approve of them entirely, remarking that they had fondness for trivial baubles and dangerous meddling. In fact she attributed the recent lights in the sky to them. We neglected to correct this misconception. We also neglected to inform her that we were highly likely to poke around in more old ruins and experiment. She may have guessed though as we did not hide our keen interest in the old lore and she made a point of warning us away from Entratradesh. On the other hand it seems that Klippica has more regular trading contact with the Dwarves to the west. There was a good road that continued on the other side of their settlement but we thought that people might worry if we explored further before we'd come back home. They did not seem to farm, only forage in the remarkably bountiful surroundings of their home. We were told that all were welcome at Kliipica so long as they came in peace and respected the sacred site. I see no reason to disbelieve this. I would also suggest that the place is well worth a visit. Their craft is an act of worship to them and one glance at the Queen's hall is enough to know that many skilled artisans live and have lived in the community.
The elven queen told us that her people had dealings with the gnome village but not often. The last time was about a decade ago. She did not seem to approve of them entirely, remarking that they had fondness for trivial baubles and dangerous meddling. In fact she attributed the recent lights in the sky to them. We neglected to correct this misconception. We also neglected to inform her that we were highly likely to poke around in more old ruins and experiment. She may have guessed though as we did not hide our keen interest in the old lore and she made a point of warning us away from Entratradesh. On the other hand it seems that Klippica has more regular trading contact with the Dwarves to the west. There was a good road that continued on the other side of their settlement but we thought that people might worry if we explored further before we'd come back home. They did not seem to farm, only forage in the remarkably bountiful surroundings of their home. We were told that all were welcome at Kliipica so long as they came in peace and respected the sacred site. I see no reason to disbelieve this. I would also suggest that the place is well worth a visit. Their craft is an act of worship to them and one glance at the Queen's hall is enough to know that many skilled artisans live and have lived in the community.
Richard Jackson
May 19, 2019, 11:06:41 AM5/19/19
to The Valley
> "She did not seem to approve of them entirely, remarking that they had fondness for trivial baubles and dangerous meddling. In fact she attributed the recent lights in the sky to them."
Tch, gnomes, eh? ;o)
From one storyteller, that was a fascinating tale, Bran. Sorry I wasn't able to join you all because of... stuff. I'll have to try to come along next time for more poking around and experimenting!
Rory Cullen
May 20, 2019, 4:52:23 AM5/20/19
to The Valley
An interesting report, and thankfully free of giant arachnidae! Let us hope that this situation continues to obtain.
I have a few minor addenda - nothing as dramatic as lost elven civilisations (although given their evident continuity of history, perhaps we are the lost civilisation?) and animate trees, of course!
I proceeded to Kazkan's farm once again, and was made welcome by the good yeoman and his family. I arranged to remain awake all night, meditating in the morning, and was rewarded with sight of some extremely interesting phenomena.
Firstly, and rather as expected, around sunset on the day the expedition set out, I observed three short pulses of light from Entatratashan, aiming up into the sky to the west at an angle of about 30° up from horizontal.
Far more interestingly, that signal provoked a response! Approximately ninety seconds later, three answering pulses came back, lighting up Entatratashan and the area of the bluff immediately around it.
There is no observable point from which this reply could have originated - no mountain, no tower, no floating islands, no dots in the sky.
This suggests one of two possibilities: firstly, that the signalling station is hidden from our eyes via camouflage or, more likely, magic - cloaking an entire building or vessel in a shroud of invisibility is conceptually possible, albeit requiring remarkable magical ability.
Secondly, though, and hugely more fascinating to my mind, is the idea that the Second Station is simply too far away for us to see - perhaps so high above the ground that our eyes are simply unable to perceive it! Elven eyesight is reckoned keen by the standards of mortal races, and I asked my familiar Bartimeus to fly as high as he could manage and use his even more acute visual faculty, but to no avail. We repeated the attempts at various times of day and in variable lighting conditions but at no stage could any hint of a Second Station be observed.
The signals (in both directions) were not repeated the following morning when the "power station" was reactivated, however.
Are these then a "start up" signal between Entatratashan and the Second Station? If so, why no repeat of the signal in the morning? Does Entatratashan build up a "reservoir" of power that persists for a time - in this case, overnight - after the power station is activated?
As usual, we have more questions than answers! Do I recall correctly that we have not yet visited Entatratashan whilst the power is flowing? Fascinated as I am by an unknown Elven culture (did you notice if they had a library, perchance?) I think this might be worth prioritising! At the risk of pushing a pet theory, if - as I contend - the Builders travelled between their various installations via nigh-instantaneous magical sub-dimensional translocation ("teleportation" as the stories have it) Entatratashan seems a likely point for one end of such a gate. The "pulsing" signal may therefore indicate the establishment of an arcane link between it and the putative Second Station. Imagine what secrets might lie within!
I must search the libraries of the Tower of Arcane Wisdom to see if it would be possible to determine the speed of a beam of light and extrapolate therefore the distance between Entatratashan and the Second Station - roughly 45 seconds in either direction, not counting any delay in response time from the Station. Hmm...
In any case I now move to the second part of my report - one equally fascinating, I think, although regrettably even more short of solid answers.
I am pleased to relate that I can vindicate the hearsay testimony of the late Alagos - there is indeed an occasional astronomical phenomenon along the dark band known to Kazkan as the Queen's Road!
A little after midnight on the third night, a faint glimmer appeared at the northern edge of the black path (which you will doubtless recall runs east to west), almost directly overhead. A deep orange-red wisp emerged at the northern edge and slowly over the course of several minutes drifted, branched out and spread across the path. To my uninformed eye it very much resembled smoke, although from what I cannot imagine. It did not quite reach the far side, but faded and flickered and about ten minutes after it first appeared, it was no longer observable.
At its greatest extent this "smoke" covered an area of the sky perhaps the size of an outstretched thumb at arm's length - a couple of degrees, at most.
I have few conjectures to explain this mysterious sight. I presume that it cannot be smoke as we understand the term, since - even if we imagine some colossal volcano, itself not visible for some reason, to produce said smoke, the vapour would not normally glow and be visible from so far away.
I invite your thoughts and hypotheses on the matter!
- Tagariel
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